Can You Train A Cat?

How many times have you taken a trip to Sea World to watch whales and dolphins jump through hoops? You wonder how they can train these essentially wild animals to accomplish this. Here is the secret....they are really not training the animals. They are recognizing the animal's normal behaviors and requesting that they do this behavior on cue.

All animals are individuals and all specialize in doing certain things. Some cats love to jump, others love to climb very high, some like to open cabinets, and some will even play fetch with you.

Deciding on a "trick" you would like your cat to perform is the first task. Then you need to decide on how your cat will be rewarded for doing such tricks. Three very popular methods of rewards are treats, clickers, and a big kiss.

Training your cat how to do tricks can be a great bonding experience. You do not need to spend an ample amount of time training your cat each day. Just a few successful attempts will be enough. Also be sure not to wake up your cat to practice this tricks. Make sure your cat is alert and focused before you start.

The most important part of the training is your reaction to what the cat is doing. You always want to focus on the positive and ignore the negative. You must be very quick.

If you want your cat to jump through round hoop for example, place the round hoop on the floor. When kitty comes over to explore give her praise. Hold the hoop up with part of it touching the ground. Entice her to walk over it. Click away, give a treat or praise. Just let kitty know that it was the reaction you wanted. Raise the hoop off the ground to the desired height you would like them to jump through. Always be sure to focus on the positives and add additional pieces along the way if you like.

Cats are very independent and become bored easily, you must be patient as sometimes training can be very frustrating..

So to the answer the question whether "cats can be trained?" Absolutely they can. You might not be able to train your cat to do everything you desire but you still can teach them things they enjoy doing. Remember to catch your cat doing what you want and to praise them, and never force your cat to train or make a negative experience out of it.